JOEY BARTON has hatched a two-year plan to land a seat alongside Shaun Wright-Phillips on the plane to the 2006 World Cup.

Having fought tooth and nail to establish himself in the Manchester City first team, the England Under-21 international has now set new ambitious goals to catch the eye of Sven Goran Eriksson.

Barton knows he has only the rest of this season and next term to make his mark at the highest level, but insists there is plenty of improvement still to come and that he couldn't be at a better club than City to help him reach his target.

"There is no point settling for a certain level, you have to want to be the best you can be and have something to aim at," said Barton after his hugely impressive comeback from injury in the 3-1 win at Portsmouth.

"One of my ambitions was to play for my country at under-21 level and now I would like to win a senior cap. I know how hard I will have to work to achieve that but I intend to give it my best shot.

"I reckon Shaun is a certainly for the World Cup squad in 2006. I will be approaching 24-years-old then and would like nothing more than being on that plane with him.

Chance

"I think Stevie Gerrard and Frank Lampard are head and shoulders the best central midfield players we have, but behind those two there may be a chance to grab a place."

If Barton is to realise his dream then he has plenty of competition to leapfrog the likes of the veteran Nicky Butt and the young brigade, Jermaine Jenas, Kieron Dyer, Owen Hargreaves, Joe Cole and Scott Parker.

The City man argues that at least two of those midfielders are not currently regular starters in the Premiership, something that could aid his cause.

"We are geared up here to be a really big club and if I can manage to be picked every week for City then it has got to be an advantage rather than sitting around on someone's bench or playing in the reserves," he noted.

Barton hurt a toe during the win at Fratton Park but is expected to be fit for the visit of Villa on Saturday for what will be his 38th Premiership start.

Praise

He will go into the game buoyed by the words of boss Kevin Keegan and determined to show that he is not a one- dimensional destroyer but capable of becoming a much more rounded player than many thought possible following his graduation from the Academy.

"If Joey can play like that every week then nothing will stop him from going right to the top," ventured the Blues boss at the weekend.

"He was inventive and clever with the ball and didn't get involved in anything silly.

"He was physical within the rules of the game. I thought he put on a superb performance."

That was music to the 22-year-old's ears after a six-week break following minor knee surgery.

"I think I am stronger now than at any time in my career and I feel that I can only get better with the passage of time," he said.